Bird flu-hit Ecija towns under state of calamity

SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga, Philippines – Nueva Ecija Gov. Cherry Umali yesterday declared a state of calamity after poultry farms in the towns of Jaen and San Isidro tested positive for the avian flu virus.

Meanwhile, the Department of Agriculture (DA) assured the public that bird flu has not spread to Mindanao, saying the reported death of fowls in Butuan City was due to poor farm management.

The Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), an attached agency of the DA, said a test conducted by the regional animal diseases detection laboratory showed the bird flu has not reached Mindanao.

Police are helping the BAI implement similar measures in Jaen and San Isidro that had been applied in San Luis, Pampanga where the outbreak started a week earlier.

The declaration of a state of calamity empowers the provincial government to use the calamity fund to assist affected poultry owners and finance measures meant to prevent the spread of avian flu.

No bird flu in Butuan

The report that avian flu has spread to Mindanao stemmed from the death of 16 ducks in Butuan City over the weekend.

Arlene Vytiaco, head of BAI animal disease and control division, said the farm owner did not observe proper farm management.

“It was overcrowded, no ventilation, no proper water facility. Their farm is located just below their house,” Vytiaco told The STAR in a phone interview. 

Earlier, the bird flu outbreak in Pampanga prompted Gov. Lilia Pineda to declare a state of calamity in her turf.

Culling of hundreds of thousands of fowl in affected towns was completed over the weekend, reports said.

The BAI office in Nueva Ecija said culling has started within a one-kilometer radius of “ground zero,” where the infected chickens were found, even as it banned the movement of fowl, eggs and other related products outside a seven-kilometer radius “controlled zone.”

Regional epidemiologist Jessie Fantone of the Department of Health (DOH) yesterday briefed all health officers in Cabanatuan City on measures to take against avian flu.

Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol said last week that tests confirmed that the H5 avian flu virus strain found in San Luis, Pampanga was also found in the towns of Jaen and San Isidro. 

Fantone said the BAI has yet to receive from an Australian laboratory the results of tests on samples taken from San Luis chickens.

The result will determine whether the affected fowl were infected by the strain that can be contracted by humans.

He said that while it is believed that the avian flu in San Luis might have been brought by migratory birds flocking to nearby Candaba swamp, experts are puzzled by the origin of the virus that hit the Nueva Ecija towns. 

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is monitoring bird sanctuaries in Central Luzon as thousands of wild birds from other countries are expected to migrate anew to the region by next month.

Depopulation

The farm in Jaen raised quail that were wiped out while the farm in San Isidro was a layer poultry facility of about 20,000 heads.

Depopulation started on Sunday and has so far culled 24,608 heads of quail and chicken.

The DA estimated that 160,000 heads, 90,000 of which are quail and 70,000 layer chickens, will be culled.

Nueva Ecija has an estimated poultry population of over six million.

The Philippine Army committed an additional 100 troops to beef up its contingent in San Isidro.

“Starting today, they will be ready for deployment after tests and vaccines are administered. The Army is tasked with the depopulation of feathered animals within the one-kilometer radius,” Umali said, adding  depopulation is expected to be finished tomorrow.

“The next stage will be disinfecting the poultry houses. Soaping and spraying of disinfectant will be done from roof to foundation for a specific number of days, after which sentinel chickens will be placed inside,” she said.

The DA will compensate farmers whose fowl will be culled at P80 per head, while the provincial government will set aside funds to help affected farmers cope with the losses.

Umali urged residents, especially farm owners, to help authorities curb the bird flu virus by immediately reporting incidents of animal deaths in their area. – With Louise Maureen Simeon, Ben Serrano